A guide to entry into specialist training.

Dental graduates have a number of career pathways to choose from, one of which is to train as a specialist. It is sometimes difficult to obtain good advice on entering the specialist training process. This paper, aimed at recent dental graduates, gives an overview of what is required of applicants who wish to obtain a specialty registrar (StR) position in one of the 13 dental specialties recognised by the General Dental Council. The potential financial implications of specialist training are outlined, along with information on dental foundation training, MFDS and MJDF examinations and postgraduate degrees. The importance of gaining experience in clinical governance and research is outlined. Advice regarding the application process and interview technique is also included. It is the authors' intention that, having read this paper, recent dental graduates will have increased knowledge of the various career paths that lead to specialisation and those interested in specialising will have improved knowledge of how to begin their journey.

Access to primary dental care for patients with inherited bleeding disorders.

Patients with inherited bleeding disorders (IBD) can face difficulty in accessing primary dental care either due to disease-specific or patient-related barriers. This can lead to poor oral health and increase the need for more invasive dental treatment. This study aimed to highlight actual and perceived barriers that IBD patients from the East London area were experiencing. It also gives an overview of the experience history of the General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) treating these patients. Information was gathered via pre-designed surveys as part of a service development audit. A total of 105 anonymous patient surveys and 50 GDP surveys were completed between December 2010 and July 2011. The patient survey highlighted more patients to be affected by patient-related than disease-specific barriers to access dental care. The GDP survey identified that just under half of GDPs questioned were not confident in the dental management of patients with bleeding disorders. Identifying misconceptions and barriers to access primary dental care will enable further development of our shared-care approach between General Dental Services, Hospital or Community Dental Services and Haemophilia Centre, optimizing regular preventative advice and follow ups to prevent dental disease and invasive dental treatment requiring haemostatic treatment.